Gallvente
The Gallvente are an alien race that hail from the HD 20782 system that is located 117 lightyears away from Earth. They are a relatively peaceful race that are distinctive for their physical appearance. They stand taller than a Human being and are notable for their six limbs - two pairs of arms and two 'hooved' legs. They are also distinctive for their lengthy names. Homeworld The Gallvente originate from their homeworld known as Thakorim, which translates to English as "The Giver", a world that has slightly lower gravity than that of Earth, which has resulted in a slightly higher stance than other intelligent races. The planet was of lower mass, yet had a diameter of roughly 11,000 kilometers, indicating that silicates largely made up the planet's internal structure. Thakorim is dominated by rolling plains that naturally produce straw-colored grass that is similar to that experienced on Earth. It was of high nutrience that was even cultivated by early Gallvente farmers because of such. The grass of the planet is generally of the same plant species, but depending on the biome and climate of the area, it could grow from a few inches to a few meters, and it was used to the advantage of the Gallvente. A large part of the population was land-locked due to large contient size, but large rivers and channels ran through the continents, which gave the Gallvente a thriving sea-transport culture. It was one of the fastest ways to get around the planet, even more effective than automobiles. A lot of Gallvente culture on Thakorim revolves around trade, which made them wonderful allies as they shared a similar principle with Humans: Supply and Demand. Though a large population lived inland, plenty of cities set up on the massive continents' ocean coasts. These were important in Gallvente culture since before the advent of radio communication, messages were sent across the sea in massive mail ships that were solely designed for that purpose. Many coastal cities were named after famous Gallvente sea explorers, one of the most famous being Rayth, which was founded in 490 CE, a hundred years after the first continent was discovered outside of Primade, The First Land. Recently, after contact with Humanity, the first new city that was constructed on the Primadian coast was named Colombo, after the famed Human explorer Christopher Colombus. Thakorim has two moons, which according to ancient legend were said to have been one at some point in the past. The moons themselves have become something of a minor curse or a promise depending on the context in which it is used. Physical Description Gallvente can be spotted at a distance quite easily. Gallvente males and females stand six feet in height average. Children can be as small as two feet at birth, but rapidly grow through to adulthood. The tallest Gallvente are noted to be well over eight feet in height, easily dwarfing a Human when compared. The second most notable feature of the Gallvente is the fact that they have two pairs of arms. Scientists believe that during the Gallvente's early stages in evolution, the creatures walked on their larger arms and legs and used the smaller limbs for manipulation and fine movements. This allows Gallvente to have a wider range of movement and ability to grasp things with tighter grip. Gallvente hands include two fingers and an opposable thumb that is present on both sets of hands. Gallvente feet are composed of two-toes hooves that are reminders of the race's origins as herbivorous bovine-like creatues that grazed the grasses of Thakorim. Gallvente mouths do not posses lips, but they have a skin fold that goes over the teeth that accomplishes the same task. It is semi-rigid since it seems to have cartilidge that supports it. This also allows the Gallvente use the mouth fold to articulate words. Gallvente teeth are flat generally, but the front two teeth on the upper and lower jaw are used for cutting that slide behind one another. Since Gallvente have a herbivorous nature, they grind their food with their broad molars, which the have twenty of, totalling twenty four teeth as adults. Gallvente possess two sets of eyes as well that were the result of an evolutionary necessity. Both sets of eyes move independantly from one another. Gallvente can actually focus on two points while they do separate actions. For example, an individual can be filing paperwork while welcoming a visitor into his or her room at the same time. This creates something of an unsettling effect for people from races that only have two eyes. On the inside, Gallvente possess two stomachs that help digest food twice. The second stomach has more potent acid than the first, which ensures that the food that has been ingested is properly digested. Gallvente possess one large heart that has two atriums that pump blood all over the body, including to their large heads which possess an equally large brain that is proportional to their body mass. The Gallvente's skin is said to be similar to that of a Human's, but at the same time seems to have the texture of slight sandpaper. No body hair grows at all, and the Gallvente are impressed by Humanity's ability to grow hair constantly. They are even more amazed by Mobians who seem to have 'skin made of hair'. Gallvente possess a voice box that helps them speak their language Galva'a, but they are also capable of learning other languages, most commonly English. The reason they can do this so easily is because they can morph their mouth folds to make different lingusitic sounds. They draw breath through nasal slits on the side of their heads that go down two windpipes to bean shaped lungs. It is possible for Gallvente to survive on one lung if the ability to breathe out of the other is compromised. Naming Rituals The most interesting part of Gallvente culture is the fact that they have such an elaborate naming system that dates all the way back to their medieval period. Gallvente names, like Humans and other races, originate from locations where individuals were born, or professions like smiths and bakers, and whatnot. Gallvente have what is known as a Long Name, or a String Name. At birth, an individual achieves two names - a given name which is bestowed to an individual upon birth which serves as primary identification. The second name that a person recieves is the family name, which is commonly just known as a 'Last Name' after Human contact. For a little while, a young Gallvente is recognized by their Birth and Family name. It is in years after their birth that young Gallvente have the opportunity to take more names. The naming system is based on deeds, essentially a merit system where a young Gallvente must accomplish a task of note that is deemed worthy of taking a name. As a young child, the first additional names are given upon completion of primary and secondary education. Whether or not one or two names are given depend on the level of success of the student. Upon graduation, the ceremony also honors the bestowing of another name, which is added to legal records. After this, additional names can be persued or awarded through completion of tasks in life such as achieving a high job status or through being awarded by an individual's community. Those that may seek additional fame would probably be judges or persue jobs in the military, where the often romanticized duties may bring names, fame, and fortune. Within military service, names are awared based on battlefield commendations or achieving ranks. Though since few wars of note are common in Gallvente society, individuals that achieve a large number of Military Names are often seen as legends that young Gallvente soldiers aspire to. In other fields like medicine, names are awarded through the number of patients that one attends to or through participation in careers. Depending on private or public practice, names can be recommended through feedback, or through hospital committe respectively. Of interesting note is the type of name that is chosen upon reaching a milestone in life. While general accomplishments warrant the choice or any name that one can think of, a name achieved in a specific careers seems to have much more thought towards it. Normally, these names are the names of other Gallvente that have achieved a name in the same field. In some way, it is honoring those that came before. A 'CEO' of a Gallvente business may choose another famous man that had achieved the same position in the past. A military member may choose a famous general that once commanded armies, and explorers may choose ancient mariners, or astronauts that achieved the same goal. Recently into the 3000s and onward, the Gallvente have taken a new practice of adopting Human names to their own. Why they have done this is uncertain, but some of this may stem from the fact that Humans were the first species that the Gallvente encountered. Some Humans believe that it is a way to gain their favor. Others believe that the Gallvente were running out of names and decided to take some fresh examples into their society. However, some Gallvente themselves claim that it is because they respect Humanity. Human names have appeared in some form or another, keeping the original spelling or modified to fit native Galva'a syntax. There was confusion over the choices of some names that were chosen. For example, a famous Gallvente General took a Human name of a Human leader in a way to honor the fact that both species had a proud military record. Unfortunately, the one he happened to choose was the first name of Adolf Hitler. From then on, Gallvente that wanted to take foreign names had to do extensive research on who the names belonged to. As of recently, Alexander was a commonly used foreign name, sometimes localized as 'Elicander', or simply 'Elic' Category:Alien Category:Species